So, after promising a New Year's ending, then a Chinese New Year's ending, I have yet again proven my worthlessness by giving you a 2 week late chapter about Easter. It's been real fun writing this, I have really loved some of the stuff I put up here, it's a time I get to show my comedy and writing skill, and you get to read some awesome Vocaloid fanfiction, so it's a win/win.
I'll put up a poll on my profile to see if you want a Hetalia version after this, just to continue the madness;)
Anyway, I don't own Vocaloid (except I do have Luka now; I got her for Christmas!), they belong to their respective companies and Yamaha.
So, please, review this last one for me, cause I have to thank everyone that has stuck with this story; the ones who fav'd it, watched it and commented on it. Even if you didn't do these things, just reading this final chapter is enough for thanks:)
For the final time, ENJOY!
Chapter 8: Last Days
(Mayu POV)
She had arrived in December, yet Mayu felt that only a few weeks of awkwardness had passed when the managers finally announced that the house would be declared closed. Maybe it was because when she had arrived it was the Christmas rush, and most were too accustomed to the now 'normal' life they lived within the house to notice yet another new face join them.
It wasn't as if she was some chick signed up from a never-heard-of company, like Oliver or Bruno and Clara were; in fact, her joint contract was with one of the most successful record labels: EXIT TUNES. If you hadn't heard of their compilation albums, then you simply weren't in the 'know' about Vocaloid. She was quite popular on debut; many fans bought her merchandise and software, yet when she arrived at the house, it was as if it Mew's surprise Christmas dinner rock-up (that her managers had told her about) was happening all over again.
The only one that noticed her much was Rin, and it wasn't in a good way. She seemed quite upset, possibly to the fact that there was now an official 'Yandere' singer in the group.
Oh, the stares that girl sometimes gave her...it was like the perky blonde was out to destroy her assigned personality.
Actually, she probably was.
(Avanna POV)
Avanna had arrived around the same time as Mayu, but due to her language, found friendship in the other English singers.
The managers promised they would all leave by the new year, yet the holiday passed and it lazily rolled into February.
Once again, more promises were made to settle on a date that month, coinciding with the Chinese New Year, but Luo was left celebrating inside the house, because no letter had been received.
Finally, here they were. A proper meeting with the highest of the high at Yamaha, discussing the closure of the house. Avanna had never really wanted to go there in the first, it seemed like a waste of time to her if she was only going to be there for a week or so.
But that week had now dragged into a few months, and she felt she wanted, no, needed more time there.
But the break up would happen at Easter, so Avanna, suck it up, I'm not writing any more about your sorry situation.
(Akiko-chan's POV)
The managers had arranged for Akiko and Galaco to spend the final few days in the house. It was at this point Akiko realised how little a number friends she'd made in that house. Walking into the house with her bags felt strange when you would be leaving very soon.
Akiko liked to stay in one place for a while, take the time to know people and places, rather than take the tourist trap route. It was easy for Galaco to fit in; she was more popular since she was allowed to record more songs, but Akiko found it harder due to her being less known about. She didn't have many songs out, so she didn't have as many fans, and she was scared the other singers would just ignore her.
However, SeeU saw the two girls walk in first and ran over to greet them in her weirdly accented Japanese.
"Hi there! You're Akiko and Galaco, right? Come on, there's bound to be some room upstairs that can fit two girls like you in," she said, and led them up the stairs to the third floor.
"Oh, how kind of you!" Akiko exclaimed. Maybe SeeU could be her friend for the next few days.
"No problem. Of you two need anything, be sure to let me know," SeeU said with a smile, and ran back down to the living room.
As Akiko and Galaco unpacked their stuff, a giant weight was lifted of Akiko's shoulders.
'Maybe I'll be able to make friends after all,' she thought.
(Luo POV)
A blur of noise could be heard this particular day, a congregation of sounds emulating from Miku's, Rion's, SeeU's and Luo's (who was using the one in Clara's room) stereos. Each as equally loud as the other, spewing out the corresponding music each loved: music featuring Miku, JPop, KPop, and CPop.
Finally, Luka couldn't stand it anymore and stormed into the closest room containing the racket, which just happened to be the one Luo was in.
Fuming, Luka threw a slightly molten chocolate easter egg she was going to eat at the direction if the stereo, but the force of the soundwaves was so strong the egg burst outwards, splattering Luo with chocolate.
For a moment the two just stood there, before Luka finally collapsed on the ground laughing her head off. Luo, still unsure of the ways of Western cultures just blinked while it sank in.
'Of course, this must be a traditional 'Easter' ritual!' she thought, and ran to the kitchen where a bowl of the offending eggs was lying in plain sight, ready for someone to, you know, possibly grab a handful and repeat the same stupid thing Luka had done.
"Ahh!" screamed SeeU as chocolate splattered across her room. But before she could look too see who had thrown it, Luo was long gone, ready to celebrate with her next victim.
"Oh, hi Lu-aaaahh!" Rion began but was cut short by a whole lot of chocolate hitting her right in the stomach. Despite being shocked by this slightly messy turn of events, she managed to still lick most of it up, being the hyperactive otaku she was.
Luo just laughed and ran in to the next room, catching her final victim off-guard and right in the face.
"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh" came the final scream of astonishment which happened to perfectly coincide with the final scream in 'World Is Mine', and as the final piano solo ended, Miku collapsed on the ground in a dramatic fashion.
Luo couldn't help herself either as she too fell over in hysteria.
'I love this western culture,' she thought, smiling to herself.
(Tonio POV)
Tonio felt depressed; Easter never brought anything amazing anyway. But mostly, his depression stemmed from the fact that despite the tome he'd spent here at the house, he was still one of (if not the least) popular singers if the whole franchise. Even for Engloid standards, he was down there with Bruno and Clara, but they were new and appealed slightly more, meaning their popularity would definitely grow soon.
He, on the other hand, was stuck at the bottom, with no-one to love him. Well, no-one except the doting Prima anyway...
"Antonio! What's wrong?" she gasped as she saw him sprawled out on his bed, very unlike himself. She always insisted on calling him by his full name, just to make him seem more posh (and Spanish).
"What's wrong, Prima? Figure it out yourself, I've made barely any headway with my music, my songs aren't selling well, and half the fandom doesn't know who I am," he said, too exhausted to sound anything other than monotonous.
"B-but your songs are amazing! How could people not want them?"
"One, only you would say that Prima; and two, illegal downloading," came his reply.
AN: Now, just because an author includes a certain issue in a certain chapter of a certain story, it does not necessarily mean that that specific author does not partake in that specific issue him/or herself. In fact, that may be the only way that specific author can obtain the certain thing that is obtained using that certain method that is the specific issue. And now, I hope you have been confused enough to not know what this specific author was talking about, and move on with the story.
"Well, there is one thing that you can brag about..." Prima said slyly, smirking at Tonio.
"And what would that b-oh...Ooooh, hehe..." Tonio chuckled, slightly embarrassed now. Last year, he had been on a quick trip to Japan with the other Engloids, when a man somehow recognised him and persuaded him to be part of a music video for a famous singer. The others pressured him onto saying yes, but he almost died of shame when he found out what he had to dress up as.
And that is how Antonio became the bunny-guy for Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's Fashion Monster MV.
"You know, I still have that suit in the storage closet..." Prima whispered seductively in Tonio's ear. Tonio grinned and jumped off the bed and ran straight for the closet.
Well, maybe he could be known for something...
(Lapis POV)
The short blue-haired girl is crying,
She doesn't want to leave, too much fun has been had,
But she has no choice.
In the corner she weeps, with CUL by her side,
IA bent over in front; Miki standing by,
But they can do nothing.
The memories pile up and lapse in her mind,
All the friends she's made and the songs she's sung,
But it's all over.
New Year's Eve, Golden Week, Olympics, Halloween, Christmas,
She'd been there, laughed and cried there,
But she couldn't anymore.
With one last look at the house Lapis gets up,
She doesn't want to leave just yet,
But she has to say goodbye.
And so she joins the rest outside with a solemn soul,
Everyone is lined up with luggage, taking it all in,
But they do not speak.
The house is still as the troupe walk the road,
Mixed emotions run through them all,
But there's still one final thing left.
(The Final Snapshot)
The group walked to a nearby hill where the managers had told them to meet up at. The hill overlooked the city and many of the singers had found time to visit once in a while to reflect on things. Upon arriving, they found their managers waiting with taxis and sleek black cars waiting on the side of the road for the meeting to end. Each person would take their separate cars (or in the case of some, carpool together) and not see each other again until the next time someone stupidly decided to put them all together for some event.
They gathered around the few managers, which for most people was one representative from their contracted company. Of course, the Crypton and Internet contracted singers had at least three for everyone, but Zero-G, despite having the largest amount of singers, only had one representative for the seven people it managed.
"So," a special manager directly from Yamaha began, "I see we've all managed to make ourselves present, I hope no-one had too much trouble leaving the house."
No one stirred, although a small whimper could be heard from Lapis, trying to put on a brave exterior for this farewell.
"Well," the man from Bplats continued, "we decided that before we let you all go on your separate ways, we want to hear one thing; just one thing, that you've learnt from you time in the house." This raised a couple of eyebrows and created a few shifty glances across the board; no-one really liked being told they had to say something inspirational, but in haste to get out of there they all eventually nodded.
"Good," said the Yamaha manager again, "then we'll go in order of debut, shall we? Just to make it less chaotic." All eyes went to Leon and Lola, who looked at each other and shivered in slight disgust at what they were about to do.
"…Always…remember who you are?" Leon began cautiously.
"Never live with people you don't know well; it just causes problems," Lola said jokingly. Suddenly people realised they didn't have to share something fully inspirational, which motivated most to at least say something.
"You're never too old for another opportunity," continued Miriam.
"Some people really should be stopped from implementing their stupid ideas," sneered Meiko, glaring at Gakupo.
"Retail therapy is best, and I've got my girls to back me up on that one, so don't judge," said Kaito defiantly.
"It's so nice to have a family!" exclaimed Ann.
"Um, some people…can be…umm…what I'm trying to saying is…look, don't judge a book by its cover, okay? There, I did it," Miku said sternly. Crossing her arms and huffing, she took a sly glance over at Gumi, who was smiling at her. At this, Miku let her hands fall to her sides and managed a shy smile back.
"Too much affection can kill…" said Rin, a dark aura suddenly making itself known.
"Don't let people push you around, especially if they're not wearing anthing, you know, down th-" Len began but luckily Prima impatiently interrupted him before he could finish sharing his embarrassing experience.
"Real-life drama is WAAAY better than that TV stuff," she said.
"Disputes can easily be settled with lots and lots of shouting and arguing," Gakupo said.
"Trust is important, and so is respect. And if you can't respect something, you should just quit living life," Luka said, making Piko feel nervous.
"Finding a happy medium is better than love," she said looking at Yuuma, "or hate," she finished while glancing to Lily and Miku again with a smile.
"There's always a secret to be found out, wherever you go," Sonika said.
"The world is such an amazing place….awww, I can't think of one thing to say, there's just so much I've learnt from you guys. You're all so much smarter than me" Miki cried. And for once, she had said something smart.
"Oh, Miki," everyone said in unison.
"Grown-ups kissing is-" Yuki started, but was quickly shushed by Miriam.
"Teaching doesn't gain you attention any more than being a little-known singer does," Kiyoteru said in a sad tone.
"Life isn't fair, so take it out on something or you anger gets pent up inside," said Al, still fuming over the cover day exclusion.
"You don't have to be popular to live life fully," Tonio said, remembering his experience with this statement.
"Love can be shared, but that doesn't make it any easier," Lily stated.
"When I said it was going to be a long year, I didn't mean this long," said Mizki in a scrutinizing tone.
"Quack!"
"Play it safe; smile and wave," said Iroha, and to this day, most singers were still in the dark about what the hell she was talking about.
"Respect others, and don't get distracted or you'll fall down ladders, I guess..." Piko said, unsure of what this exercise achieved.
"Sometimes a change in attitude is for the better," Yuuma said, bringing Gumi and Lily in for an awkward hug.
"You can always make new friends, no matter how short your stay is!" Akiko said happily
"And being included is worth it, no matter how long it takes," said Mew, nicely finishing off Akiko's statement.
"Cliques can be a help or a hindrance," said SeeU
"Anime is always the answer, even if someone says 'no'," said Rion excitedly.
"I guess sometimes different cultures can be good?" Oliver said, also unsure of himself, not wanting to sound rude.
"I make pretty good plans, if I do say so myself," CUL stated, and no one could really disagree on that one.
"Jazzy Christmas albums make all the money," Yukari stated matter-of-factly.
"People here do not generally condone 'playful banter'," Bruno said quietly.
"Bruno is really embarrassing, and my plans are always half-finished," said Clara, annoyed.
"Everyone here has a little more respect for one another. Except for Gakupo," said Ia, and Gakupo solemnly nodded in agreement.
"I…I realise that I don't want to leave, I'll miss you all so much!" Lapis cried, unable to stay strong any longer. Galaco, who was beside her, took her in as Lapis cried into her jacket.
"The world is a strange place, and I wish for everyone to try more of it out for themselves." Tianyi said in her best English. A round of applause followed.
"Ahh…life really is strange, expect the unexpected," Galaco said.
"Look out for the cute ones, they're the real dangers," said Mayu, and so began her stare-off with Rin.
"Time is an interesting thing; you'll never know what it'll do to you," said a thoughtful Avanna, and with that, the final obligation of their lives in the house had ended.
"Wonderful!" the Yamaha manager exclaimed, "So, you think now that you've had this amazing experience, you'll come back and do it again next year?" he asked enthusiastically.
Everyone just stared at him for a second, taking a moment to register what he had just said.
But of course, everyone just laughed and walked off to their respective cabs and cars, with an abundance of 'No way's and 'See ya later's, leaving the stunned managers on the hill.
Sure they'd had a hilarious time there, but you didn't really think after all that shit that had happened that they'd want to do it all over again, did you?